Extremely Hot Weather - Engine Oil Viscosity

[Guru86]

Hello fellow 86

Yet another (which oil?) thread!

I live in Saudi Arabia where the weather in here hits 40C - 52C at max during summer time!

I've been searching around for so long and trying to make my mind on which oil viscosity I should use.

Here is a picture from the GT86 manual:



Last time I changed my oil was on 5000 KM and now I'm hitting around 13500 KM and planning to change it soon.

I used Motul 5w30 and as per the manual it says "if SAE 0w20 isn't available, SAE 5w30 oil may be used. However, it should be replaced with SAE 0w20 at the next oil change"

Now the eternal question:



Should I stick with the manual and use 0w20 (Motul 8100 ECO-LITE 0W20 for every 15k KM) or I stick with 5w30 for good under these circumstances (Extremely Hot Weather + normal day to day driving traffic jam)?

Appreciate your input!

P.S: The dealer in here has no clue what so ever about the car and I'm not driving this car to the limit.

[ryoma]

maybe you would benefit from an oil cooler so you can stick with the manual recommendations instead of worrying. a simple oil cooler like the OEM forester should be fine, you don't need to go all out with an external oil cooler. the jackson racing radiator + oil cooler combo looks really promising too, but at a premium price.

it would be beneficial if you log your oil temps too with something as simple as a bluetooth OBD2 adapter with a phone app like torque so you know what your temps look like before committing to spending some $$

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by ryoma

maybe you would benefit from an oil cooler so you can stick with the manual recommendations instead of worrying. a simple oil cooler like the OEM forester should be fine, you don't need to go all out with an external oil cooler. the jackson racing radiator + oil cooler combo looks really promising too, but at a premium price.

it would be beneficial if you log your oil temps too with something as simple as a bluetooth OBD2 adapter with a phone app like torque so you know what your temps look like before committing to spending some $$

Originally Posted by Guru86

Hello fellow 86

Yet another (which oil?) thread!

I live in Saudi Arabia where the weather in here hits 40C - 52C at max during summer time!

I've been searching around for so long and trying to make my mind on which oil viscosity I should use.

Here is a picture from the GT86 manual:



Last time I changed my oil was on 5000 KM and now I'm hitting around 13500 KM and planning to change it soon.

I used Motul 5w30 and as per the manual it says "if SAE 0w20 isn't available, SAE 5w30 oil may be used. However, it should be replaced with SAE 0w20 at the next oil change"

Now the eternal question:



Should I stick with the manual and use 0w20 (Motul 8100 ECO-LITE 0W20 for every 15k KM) or I stick with 5w30 for good under these circumstances (Extremely Hot Weather + normal day to day driving traffic jam)?

Appreciate your input!

P.S: The dealer in here has no clue what so ever about the car and I'm not driving this car to the limit.

I'm with ryoma here I'd get a perrin performance or jackson racing oil cooler, but not the OEM forester one he suggested, that's not really good enough for those kinds of ambient temps and also it's more or less an oil warmer as well so it's not really necessary. An external oil cooler would really help you out. Then you can just stick with the 0w20, but you just use an extra liter so you'd now use 6.4 liters with the cooler , also you're intervals are about right if not too soon. 8000 km changes with the oil cooler will help change out older oil sitting in the cooler.

[Clipdat]

If the OEM recommended fill is 5.8q how do you get 6.4q by adding 1q?

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

I'm with ryoma here I'd get a perrin performance or jackson racing oil cooler, but not the OEM forester one he suggested, that's not really good enough for those kinds of ambient temps and also it's more or less an oil warmer as well so it's not really necessary. An external oil cooler would really help you out. Then you can just stick with the 0w20, but you just use an extra quart so you'd now use 6.4 quarts with the cooler (6.1 Liters), also you're intervals are about right if not too soon. 8000 km changes with the oil cooler will help change out older oil sitting in the cooler.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

If the OEM recommended fill is 5.8q how do you get 6.4q by adding 1q?

I'm pretty sure the OEM recommended fill is 5.4 liters that's my bad

[ryoma]

just a reminder that if you do get an external oil cooler, you only need to add in the extra quart (or whatever specified amount depending on the oil cooler) once. then all the oil changes after that is just like normal. only when you drain the lines and the cooler core for the external oil cooler do you need to add in the extra oil again.

as for my recommendation for the OEM style oil cooler, it is generally the cheapest option compared to external oil coolers and the OP isn't tracking his car or pushing the car to the limit so it should be adequate or better than nothing. however, I strongly recommend you to log your oil temps and see what temperatures you're looking at in extreme weather before forking out the cash on an oil cooler. an external oil cooler will be around $500-$600 new while the OEM style is about half that price new. if you can get a good deal on a used setup, definitely go for it. that's how I got my JR cooler and it was money well spent.

[humfrz]

Well, now, Guru86, I feel that 5w-30 would be just fine all the time in those temperatures.

For average driving in those temperatures, I don't feel you need an oil cooler (I have no data - just a feeling).


humfrz

[steve99]

He in Oz (top end near equator) and in South Africa where its pretty warm but not as warm as where you are dealer's put in 5w30 or 10w30.


lot of people here run 5w30 or 10w30 due warm climate.


The 0w20 will work anywhere and likely for usa/Canada/Europe/japan where they often see sub-zero temps snow etc.


If you never see temps below zero C then 5w30 or 10w30 will be fine and likely better suited to your conditions than 0w20.


0w20 is likely for emmisions and fuel economy targets in the average climate.


On the next page of manual it says something like a higher viscosity oil is preferable if vehicle operated under harsh conditions.


your area is much warmer than average.




oil temp vs pressure data from hard use 0W20 vs 5W30
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91820






.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

I'm with ryoma here I'd get a perrin performance or jackson racing oil cooler, but not the OEM forester one he suggested, that's not really good enough for those kinds of ambient temps and also it's more or less an oil warmer as well so it's not really necessary. An external oil cooler would really help you out. Then you can just stick with the 0w20, but you just use an extra liter so you'd now use 6.4 liters with the cooler , also you're intervals are about right if not too soon. 8000 km changes with the oil cooler will help change out older oil sitting in the cooler.

a few points...

1) External coolers, while nice, are absurd for street use, especially given additional failure points where oil may leak. Unless OP is good with fixing stuff, it's generally not a good idea to run an external cooler for purely street use.
2) the Forester cooler is the same design as the Cusco cooler. At the track, my Cusco oil cooler was able to reduce oil temps by about 10-15C. On the street, it reduced highway oil temps by approx. 5C as measured by my oil temp gauge.

-alex

[Zentec]

Look at this post http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77169
In conditions like us you would be good with 5w30 or 10w30 and an oil cooler.

[Desy159]

Hello! Thanks for the link, now there was a problem with the oil.
transunion customer support

[Tokay444]

Eneos Sustina 0w50 and never look back.

[venturaII]

You mean Sustina 0W-40 in a different bottle?

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...Number=2816079

[solidONE]

Oil viscosity isn't the only consideration under hard use in high temp conditions. Oil temps also has an effect on performance, so regardless of whether your thicker oil maintains viscosity under high temp abuse there is a definite correlation between high engine oil/engine temps and reduced knock resistance.

Although if you're mostly just putting around town and accelerating to pass the guy in the next lane over, then save yourself the trouble and money by running a thicker oil.